Latest news with #ATLAS
Business Wire
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Access Point Financial Successfully Completes $1.1 Billion Hospitality Loan Refinancing with ATLAS SP Partners
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Access Point Financial (APF), a $3.0 billion real estate private credit firm focused on the hospitality industry, today announced the successful refinancing of $1.1 billion of floating rate mortgage loans backed by 67 properties with ATLAS SP Partners ('ATLAS'), the warehouse finance and securitized products business majority owned by Apollo funds. Access Point Financial announced the refinancing of $1.1 billion of floating rate mortgage loans backed by 67 properties with ATLAS SP Partners. Share 'We're pleased to expand our relationship with ATLAS with the closing of this term loan,' said Mike Lipson, CEO, APF. 'This transaction further enhances Access Point's robust capacity to finance the lodging sector and continue to build our industry leading platform.' 'Access Point Financial has deployed $1.1 billion over the past 18-months and actively is deploying capital in today's market,' Lipson added. 'We understand the market's capital needs and are responding, in scale, with a variety of financing solutions for an array of project types, hotel chain-scales and owners.' All loans in the pool are hotel mortgage loans originated by APF. Each is US-based, and the majority are Marriott-, Hilton-, Hyatt- or IHG-franchised properties. 'Access Point Financial has been a trusted partner to ATLAS for several years, and we're proud to deepen that relationship through this thoughtfully structured facility,' said Brendan Jordan, co-head of Commercial Real Estate Origination, ATLAS. 'This transaction exemplifies our ability to deliver customized financing solutions that support our clients' long-term growth while driving value across our own platform. We're excited to help enable APF's continued leadership in hospitality lending through a capital solution that offers execution certainty and flexibility in a dynamic market.' About Access Point Financial Founded in 2011, Atlanta-based Access Point Financial (APF) is a $3.0 billion real estate private credit firm focused on the hospitality industry, offering direct financing to qualified hotel owners and franchisees of all major hospitality brands and independent boutique hotels throughout the United States. For additional information and key contacts, please visit About ATLAS SP Partners ATLAS SP is a global investment firm providing stable capital, financing, advisory and institutional products to market participants seeking innovative and bespoke structured credit and asset backed solutions. We're proud to build upon a legacy of client excellence that includes certainty of execution, deep expertise and full-service capabilities across the asset management landscape. For more information, visit
Economic Times
4 days ago
- Science
- Economic Times
Aliens coming, interstellar object 3I/ATLAS may be their ship and we have no defense; this Harvard astrophysicist is almost 100% sure
TIL Creatives The third interstellar object ever detected, 3I/ATLAS, is hurtling through our solar system — and some scientists believe it might not be natural Since the inception of human space exploration, there have been innumerable conspiracy theories about aliens and their existence, but this time, it might be true. A mysterious object 3I/ATLAS has entered our solar system and it is the third confirmed interstellar visitor in recorded history. But is it just a comet or an alien technology?That's the question Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb is asking about 3I/ATLAS, the third confirmed interstellar object ever discovered, which is now racing through space toward a close solar encounter this fall. While most astronomers see a harmless, icy comet, Loeb and a team of researchers are entertaining a radical hypothesis, What if 3I/ATLAS is actually a piece of alien technology, and possibly even hostile?The suggestion, outlined in a new preprint paper and a follow-up blog post by Loeb, reopens a debate he ignited in 2017 when he proposed that the interstellar object ʻOumuamua was an alien light sail. That claim made him a scientific celebrity, and a lightning rod for Loeb is back.'This hypothesis proposes that our cosmic neighborhood is dangerous, filled with intelligent civilizations that are hostile and silent to avoid detection by potential predators,' Loeb wrote. At first glance, 3I/ATLAS fits the bill for a comet. Discovered on July 1, 2025 by NASA's ATLAS telescope in Chile, it is more than 12 miles wide, traveling at 37 miles per second, and follows a hyperbolic orbit, meaning it came from beyond our solar system and won't return. Its trajectory will bring it within 130 million miles of Earth on October 30, according to NASA. But Loeb argues the orbit is too perfect. The object is projected to pass close to Venus, Earth, and Jupiter, a rare planetary flyby that he says has a 0.005 percent probability of happening by paper suggests that if 3I/ATLAS were an intelligently guided spacecraft, it might be using those planetary flybys to maneuver or refuel, like a probe sent for surveillance or even first contact.'A trajectory shift, if detected before November, could confirm intelligence,' he warned. 'By then, it might be too late to respond.''Any suggestion that it's artificial is nonsense on stilts,' said Oxford astronomer Chris Lintott, who helped simulate 3I/ATLAS's origins. 'It's an insult to the real work being done.'So far, there's no evidence of a tail, no unusual signal, no propulsion. But Loeb says we shouldn't be so sure. He points to the noisy and inconclusive infrared data used in recent 'water ice' analyses and argues that L-type asteroid spectra fit just as well. He's calling for urgent action, a space probe launched this fall to intercept the object and get a definitive answer. Private voices, including engineers and even design studios, have rallied behind him, urging Elon Musk and SpaceX to get involved before the window closes. The tension is palpable. With its solar approach looming and no probe yet launched, 3I/ATLAS may slip through our grasp, just like ʻOumuamua did.
News18
5 days ago
- Science
- News18
‘They're Intelligent & Hostile': This ‘Alien' Tech Object Is Near Earth! On October 30, It Will...
Last Updated: According to NASA, the so-called 'alien tech object' will come within about 130 million miles of Earth on October 30. A mysterious object speeding through our Solar System has caught the attention of astronomers around the world and some believe it may not be just a comet. With its unusual movement and interstellar origin, a new theory suggests it could be alien technology. The object, named 3I/ATLAS, is set to pass relatively close to Earth on October 30. While many experts say it's likely a natural icy comet, a fresh claim from a group of researchers led by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb is raising eyebrows. What Is 3I/ATLAS? 3I/ATLAS was first detected earlier in July by a NASA-funded telescope in Chile, part of the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). When it was spotted, it appeared to be an unknown object entering Earth's neighbourhood from outside the Solar System which makes it one of three known interstellar objects ever discovered. The object is large measuring over 12 miles wide and is traveling at a speed of 37 miles per second. According to NASA, it will pass within about 130 million miles of Earth on October 30. Avi Loeb's Alien Theory 'This hypothesis proposes that our cosmic neighborhood is dangerous, filled with intelligent civilizations that are hostile and silent to avoid detection by potential predators," Loeb wrote in a post on online platform Medium. However, several experts have strongly pushed back against Loeb's dramatic theory. Speaking to LiveScience, University of Oxford astronomer Chris Lintott, who was part of the team that simulated 3I/ATLAS's galactic origins, dismissed the idea of it being alien-made. 'Any suggestion that it's artificial is nonsense on stilts, and is an insult to the exciting work going on to understand this object," Lintott said. Loeb too has clarified that the likelihood of 3I/ATLAS being alien technology remains very low. 'By far, the most likely outcome will be that 3I/ATLAS is a completely natural interstellar object, probably a comet," he wrote in the blog post. Not Avi Loeb's First Time This is not the first time Loeb has raised the possibility of alien artifacts. In 2017, he famously suggested that another interstellar object, Oumuamua, could have been an alien spacecraft. Last year, he also led a mission to recover fragments of a meteor named IM1 from the ocean floor near Papua New Guinea which had crashed in 2014. He later said the metallic spheres retrieved were composed of substance unmatched to any existing alloys in our solar system. The only other time an interstellar object has been spotted travelling through our solar system occurred in 2019 when comet Borisov passed by. JD Vance Says He's 'Obsessed' With UFOs The curiosity around unidentified objects in space has also caught the attention of US political leaders. Vice President JD Vance recently revealed that he is 'obsessed" with the UFO phenomenon. 'Like I'm obsessed with the whole UFO thing. 'What's actually going on?' 'What were those videos all about?'" Vance said during a recent appearance on the Ruthless Podcast. He added, 'I haven't gotten to the bottom of it yet but we're only six months in, we've been very busy." Another key figure from the previous administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has also expressed serious concern about UFOs. In an interview with NewsNation in 2023, he once claimed that top officials had 'first-hand knowledge" of a secret Pentagon crash retrieval program. Buzz Staff A team of writers at bring you stories on what's creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. News18's viral page features trending stories, videos, and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (Probably) Isn't an Alien Spacecraft, But Here Are All the Theories
The space rock 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object discovered by astronomers, following 'Oumuamua and the comet Borisov. While astronomers are still busily collecting data on the new discovery, they think it originated from the Milky Way's thick disk. If so, it may be as old as 7 billion years, a couple billion years older than our entire solar system. Its path through space will take it between the orbits of Earth and Mars before it heads back out toward interstellar space again. When it was discovered by NASA's ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) on July 1, 2025, it was traveling a blistering 137,000 miles per hour and getting faster. It will be moving faster than 150,000 miles per hour when it makes its closest approach with the Sun. The asteroid gets its name from a combination of its place in astronomical history (3I being short for third interstellar) and the ATLAS telescope which made the discovery. Astronomers know it's interstellar because its trajectory puts it on a hyperbolic orbit which will send it back into deep space after a close pass through the inner solar system later this year. The comet is traveling within 5 degrees of the ecliptic plane (the imaginary plane upon which the Earth and most of the rest of the solar system spin) and it will pass relatively close to Venus, Mars, and Jupiter during its visit. It's that same trajectory that astronomer Avi Loeb says may be evidence of alien technology. 3I/ATLAS, the Fermi Paradox, and the Dark Forest hypothesis Loeb suggests that 3I/ATLAS is on the sort of path an alien intelligence might chart if they wanted to learn more about us and our system. He also says that the probability of the trajectory so close to three planets has a combined probability of just 0.005% This isn't the first time Loeb has suggested alien origins for interstellar objects. He suggested that 'Oumuamua may have been an alien probe and he combed the ocean floor with a magnetic rake looking for debris from downed alien spacecraft. This time, at least, Loeb says his speculations about 3I/ATLAS are mostly a thought experiment. "As largely a pedagogical exercise, in this paper we present additional analysis into the astrodynamics of 3I/ATLAS, and hypothesize that this object could be technological, and possibly hostile as would be expected from the 'Dark Forest' resolution to the 'Fermi Paradox'," authors Avi Loeb, Adam Hibberd, and Adam Crowl wrote in a preprint paper posted to arXiv. The paper has not been peer reviewed. For More on Interstellar Objects: In 1950, physicist Enrico Fermi went to lunch and posed one of the biggest unanswered questions in the history of astronomy: Where is everyone? If there are so many stars and so many worlds, with so many opportunities for life to arise, why are we seemingly alone in the cosmos? With 14 billion years of universal history, it feels like the skies should be filled with spacefarers, uncrewed probes, and radio signals. In spite of all this, there are no apparent signs of life out there. With a sample size of one (Earth), it's impossible to draw conclusions about how common life is in the universe or why we haven't found it yet. Dozens of solutions have been proposed for the Great Silence including that we really are alone, that we're early in the evolution of the universe and one of the first intelligent species to arise, and that technological civilizations tend to destroy themselves. And then there's the Dark Forest hypothesis. Taking its name from Liu Cixin's 2008 science fiction novel The Dark Forest, in which there are many civilizations in the universe, but they are hostile and quiet. It's similar to the Deadly Probes scenario, also known as the Berserker hypothesis, which suggests we haven't found alien life because it has all been destroyed by killer self-replicating spacecraft. The Dark Forest compares the universe to an environment filled with predators in which the best way to survive is to be silent. Similar themes were explored in the 1987 novel The Forge of God in which author Greg Bear likens humanity to a crying baby in a hostile forest. In these scenarios, when the intentions of an alien civilization can't be known it might be best to shoot first and ask questions later. And, if the prevailing attitude of the cosmos is antagonistic, then the only way to survive long-term is stealth. Many civilizations may choose not to explore or communicate, instead remaining quietly and safely on their home planets. If you're going to explore, you might want to do it covertly. Disguising your probes as interstellar space rocks might be one way to do that. Loeb, Hibberd, and Crowl make the case that if 3I/ATLAS were an alien spacecraft, its current trajectory would allow it to access Earth easily. When it's behind the Sun and blocked from our view, it could secretly thrust to slow down and fall into orbit around the Sun. If it wanted to, it could then chart a course for Earth, arriving as soon as November or December. Of course, even Loeb thinks that's unlikely. 'By far, the most likely outcome will be that 3I/ATLAS is a completely natural interstellar object, probably a comet, and we await the astronomical data to support this likely origin,' Loeb said. Prepare for contact with ETs by watching Resident Alien, ! Solve the daily Crossword
Al Etihad
31-07-2025
- Science
- Al Etihad
Abu Dhabi observatory captures image of interstellar object
31 July 2025 11:15 A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)An Abu Dhabi-based astronomy centre has tracked an extraordinary comet hurtling through our solar system at an astonishing speed of 221,000 kilometres per hour—marking a rare interstellar visitor from Astronomical Observatory, located in the Abu Dhabi desert, captured images of the comet on the evening of July 3, according to Eng. Mohammad Shawkat Odeh, Director of the International Astronomy Center. Speaking to Aletihad, he confirmed that this makes the observatory the first Arab facility to conduct scientific observations of this celestial comet was initially discovered by NASA on July 1, using the ATLAS survey system and its telescope in Chile. Originally designated 'A11pl3Z,' it was later named 'C/2025 N1 (ATLAS)' and has now been formally classified as '3I/ATLAS'. The prefix '3I' signifies its distinction as only the third known interstellar object — meaning it originated outside our solar system. The first, 'Oumuamua', was detected in 2017, followed by 2I/Borisov in Odeh noted that the comet, currently located 670 million kilometres from the Sun, is travelling at a velocity too great to be gravitationally bound to our solar system. 'Experts were able to determine that it originated outside the solar system due to its extreme speed and its open trajectory, as it does not orbit the Sun,' he the comet was technically demanding due to its faint brightness, with a current visual magnitude of 17.5. It is only visible through large telescopes. Despite this, the observatory team succeeded in capturing 45 images during a 45-minute observation window. 'The team observed the comet moving among the stars at high speed,' Eng. Odeh said, adding that the object is in the yellow box in the captured image displayed from the Abu Dhabi observatory has been submitted to the Minor Planet Center (MPC) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), further marking the region's growing role in global space Odeh said the comet will make its closest approach to the Sun on October 30, 2025, at a distance of 210 million kilometres. It poses no danger to Earth, with its nearest approach to our planet expected to be 240 million kilometres confirmed that the comet was first detected coming from direction of the Sagittarius constellation, home to the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. According to a NASA statement, '3I/ATLAS should remain visible to ground-based telescopes through September, after which it will pass too close to the Sun to observe. It is expected to reappear on the other side of the Sun by early December, allowing for renewed observations.'Astronomers around the world are now racing to better understand its physical properties. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said the visible fuzziness of the object suggests it is made mostly of ice, not Moissl, head of planetary defence at the European Space Agency, confirmed its trajectory 'means it's not orbiting our star, but coming from interstellar space and flying off to there again.' He added that it is currently estimated to be 10 to 20 kilometres wide, potentially making it the largest interstellar object ever Harvard astronomer and alien technology theorist Avi Loeb has floated the idea that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien probe sent to us by an intelligent civilisation. He also suggested that we could use an existing spacecraft to intercept the object's path to understand its nature. In a paper, the researcher argued that NASA's Juno spacecraft, which was designed to study Jupiter and launched in 2011, could get close to 3I/ATLAS by March 14, 2026. But NASA is yet to deliver its opinion on the feasibility of this idea.
